


Five Times Derek the Barista Ruined Stiles’ Date (And One Time He Didn’t)

by oldvoiceholdingmeback (tryingtofallbehind)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Human, F/F, F/M, M/M, many other pairings mentioned, none really featured
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-17
Updated: 2013-04-17
Packaged: 2017-12-08 19:04:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/764934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tryingtofallbehind/pseuds/oldvoiceholdingmeback
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles befriends local Starbucks barista, Derek, but he didn't expect for him to interfere so much in his love life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Times Derek the Barista Ruined Stiles’ Date (And One Time He Didn’t)

**1\. Tyler**

No matter how “hipster” Stiles appeared, he would not give up Starbucks. Sure, it wasn’t the best coffee, but it was consistent, it was a known, it was comfortable, and, really, Stiles didn’t like coffee. He liked coffee-flavored sugar transported through steamed milk. Sometimes blended milk, when Derek the Barista wasn’t on shift.

And, even though Derek absolutely loathed when Stiles ordered frappuccinos, he was still Stiles’ favorite barista. It had taken a while for Derek to warm up to Stiles (unlike Isaac, who had adored Stiles and Scott immediately), but Stiles had worn Derek down, and they were almost friends. 

(Erica, another barista, called Stiles and Scott groupies, but whatever, Stiles was in this for way more than the coffee.)

Stiles and Scott spent far too many of their nights in Starbucks, sitting at the bar (creeper counter, according to Erica) by the espresso machines, perfectly placed to talk to the baristas. Derek liked to pretend he didn’t care whether Stiles and Scott were there or not, but he definitely smiled more when they were around. Plus, he occasionally gave them free cake pops, especially when they came back after school breaks, as if to show that he had missed them. Stiles was very careful not to point this out, partly because he didn’t want to stop getting free cake pops but mostly because he didn’t want to embarrass Derek.

Basically, Derek’s Starbucks is Stiles’ second home while he’s away at school, so naturally it’s the first place he thinks of to have a first date. It’s not really a date at all, honestly, more of a getting-to-know-you, but Stiles brings Tyler to Starbucks to have it, because: 1) if things start feeling off, Derek (or Boyd, or Erica) will scare him off and 2) Stiles can’t be with someone that doesn’t accept his love of Starbucks.

And it seemed to be going well, Stiles thought. The walk over to Starbucks had been nice, it was about a ten-minute walk from his dorm, where Tyler had met him, and their conversation was easy and so far still interesting. Stiles settled onto one of the few bench seats in a corner after waving at Derek and Tyler’s insistence on going to buy both of their drinks (even though Stiles wanted the stars, he only has two more until his next free drink), checking his phone before looking up when he felt someone standing in front of him. He opened his mouth to say “thank you” to Tyler, a warm smile planted on his face but instead he found Derek standing before him, awkwardly holding a venti cup out to him, surely containing his peppermint white mocha (because it was Christmas in a cup).

“Where’s Tyler?” Stiles asked, confused.

Derek scratched the back of his neck, “He, uh, had to leave. Said something about a project he forgot about or something.”

Stiles sighed, glancing back at Derek and noticing that he was lacking his apron, “You on break?”

Derek nodded, “My ten.”

“Sit and talk with me?” Derek shrugged, but sat down next to Stiles anyways, handing over the cup. “I liked him. I thought he liked me.” Stiles sighed, “You didn’t scare him away, did you?”

Stiles missed the guilty look on Derek’s face as he sipped at his coffee, starting up a new topic of conversation a moment later.

**2\. Danny**

Danny was the newest barista at Starbucks, and he was close to Stiles and Scott’s ages, unlike Derek. He was cute, too, and for some reason he seemed to like Stiles. At first, Stiles thought that Danny just liked everyone, which was, to some extent, true, but he didn’t ring everyone up free every single time like he did with Stiles. Even Isaac didn’t do that for Scott and Isaac adored Scott.

But, of course, Stiles didn’t actually expect anything to come of it. Tons of people flirted with him, even Lydia sometimes flirted with him, but nothing ever came of it. He was cute, he was nice, he was safe, people could flirt with him and he was never going to push them to actually act on their suggestions. And, honestly, Stiles was comfortable with it that way, too. He didn’t date in high school, and people still rarely showed genuine interest in him, so he didn’t really know what to do in a romantic situation anyways.

Stiles assumed that Danny was one of those people, essentially honing his skills on Stiles before moving onto the real people he was interested in. Except, then Erica was asking Stiles if he thought Danny was attractive (and, honestly, who wouldn’t?) and if he was free the upcoming weekend and Danny was sneaking glances over at them from the corner where he was making the iced teas and oh. 

Stiles grinned, lifting his hand to wave at Danny and Danny ducked his head, obviously pleased, and Stiles felt something warm build in his chest. That was Tuesday, and Stiles had to run and meet his group for his cultural anthropology class, he didn’t get to actually talk to Danny directly at all.

Stiles was back on Thursday during one of the few slow hours, and Danny was working register, smiling as he saw Stiles approach the counter, tapping his fingers against the register. “What’ll it be today?”

Stiles hummed, tilting his head to stare at the menu, even though he practically had it memorized. “I think I’d like a double chocolaty chip Frappuccino with raspberry please. Grande.”

Danny grinned, punching in far more numbers than necessary and swiping Stiles’ card, even though Stiles knew he wouldn’t find a charge documented the next day. He grabbed a cup and scribbled Stiles’ order and name onto it before pausing and looking up, “My- I’m putting my number on your cup. You should call me this weekend. I’m not working. We can get lunch or something.”

“That sounds great,” Stiles said. “I’ll talk to you soon.” Stiles wandered over to sit and settle in at the bar to watch Derek make his drink. It didn’t take long, it was extraordinarily slow in the store, and Stiles knew that Derek had reached his drink from the scowl that appeared when Derek picked up the cup.

And then, halfway through filling the cup with the required ingredients, Derek dumped out the contents and threw away the cup, grabbing a new one. Stiles opened his mouth to say something, but Derek just glared, mumbling, “I messed up, needed a new cup.”

“I have seen you start over frappuccinos in the same cup. Multiple times,” Stiles snapped. He looked over to the register, preparing to approach and ask Danny for his number again, but Danny was gone. “Where’d he go?”

Derek apparently didn’t even have to look up to answer Stiles, “Laura sent him on his lunch break. He’ll be back in half an hour.” He placed Stiles’ Frappuccino in front of him, with a straw, and Stiles glared, knowing he couldn’t be there in half an hour. He had class. And Derek knew that too. Stiles grabbed a napkin and scribbled his number onto it, shoving it towards Derek. 

“Give that to Danny, will you?” 

Derek nodded, “Of course,” and then Stiles was off, running to his political science course.

**3\. Abigail**

So the thing with Danny never happens. And that’s pretty disappointing for Stiles, because Danny is awesome but Danny never calls Stiles and Stiles figures he must not have been that interested in the first place. Stiles’ theory is confirmed when Danny starts dating Jackson from the local coffee place across the street, and while Stiles thinks it’s kind of a conflict of interest but Derek and Laura seem fine with it (Derek seems almost happy for Danny) so Stiles is fine with it too. Even if Jackson is a pretentious hipster jerk face.

Abby comes next.

Abby is almost more than Stiles can handle, but he’s always liked a challenge. She’s a year older and he meets her in his women’s studies class, and she approaches him after class one day and she’s the one who leads him to Starbucks (which was a good sign if Stiles ever saw one).

She seemed as comfortable there as Stiles did, even waving at Erica and Boyd and getting familiar nods in return as they entered. Derek wasn’t working, but he was sitting at the counter, chatting with Isaac who was on bar making drinks. The line was longer than it normally was, and Stiles stood in line with Abby chatting the entire time, drifting from the topic of their women’s studies lecture to their hometowns (hers large, his tiny) and their best friends that had accompanied them to school. 

They paid separately for their drinks, but that seemed to fit with Abby, and it made Stiles more comfortable, reminded him that they were still just getting to know each other, this didn’t have to mean anything. He moved to walk past Derek once they received their drinks, but Stiles couldn’t walk by without saying “hi” at the very least.

But then, Abby became far more interested in Derek than she ever had been with Stiles, sitting on a stool next to him and leaning closer. Derek looked distinctly uncomfortable, probably feeling bad about ruining Stiles’ chances once again, but Stiles didn’t blame Abby. He would be all over Derek, too, if he thought he had any chance. 

To give his blessing, Stiles smiled and waved his hand distractedly, making up urgent homework that didn’t exist and excused himself, attempting an encouraging smile at Derek. Surprisingly, Derek didn’t look as excited as Stiles thought he would.

**4\. James**

Stiles didn’t go out with anyone for a while, mostly because he was too busy mooning over Derek, basking in the knowledge that he had somehow fallen into like with Derek the Barista. He hadn’t had a crush on someone so far out of his league this since high school and Lydia and that wasn’t good for anyone, least of all Stiles. But Stiles figured that for a bit it was probably best to just wait it out, let his feelings fade a bit.

It wouldn’t be fair to try going out with anyone while he was aware of his feelings for Derek. Stiles realized that he had probably had these feelings during some of his other aborted dates, but now that he knew he wasn’t going to knowingly do the same. 

Stiles avoided Derek’s Starbucks in the hopes that he would be able to start regarding him as solely his friendly neighborhood Starbucks barista again.

To be clear, Stiles had tried to interact with him immediately after he figured out what was going on. He had gone to Starbucks as normal, but as soon as Derek asked for his drink order, Stiles stuttered and blushed and Derek just glared, and Stiles ran out as soon as his drink (Derek had rung him up for a raspberry white mocha, since it was his default drink) was done.

The point was, Stiles needed to avoid Starbucks or, at the very least, avoid Derek’s shifts. Honestly, it wasn’t extremely difficult to avoid Derek. He preferred to close because it was slower and there were less people on shift too. Stiles knew the closing crews best; it was almost always a combination of three out of Derek, Laura, Isaac, Erica, Boyd, Greenburg (everyone hated Greenburg), and now Danny. Sometimes some of the daytime staff when they were short, even occasionally Peter, Derek and Laura’s uncle who owned the store. Derek occasionally worked mid-morning to afternoon shifts but only on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and he never worked the early morning shifts.

Stiles learned to avoid Derek without having to completely avoid Starbucks. He was incredibly relieved when he realized that he could do this, because at first Stiles spent four days going to Jackson’s coffee shop and Stiles nearly choked on the pretentiousness each time he stepped in there.

Funnily enough, that is where Stiles meets James. Stiles is complaining to Jackson for the fifteenth time that his drink does not taste right when James receives his own drink. He sipped at it before pulling a face and stepping up to back Stiles’ complaints. They left clutching free drink coupons (absolutely useless, they weren’t from Starbucks after all) and laughing hysterically from the look on Jackson’s face when his manager ordered him to give Stiles and James free pastries. 

James, after wiping the tears leaking out of his eyes away, turned to Stiles and asked, “Starbucks? I should have known better than to try and decipher local coffee.”

Stiles glanced at his watch and shook his head, “I- I’m trying not to go to Starbucks at this time of day.”

“Avoiding someone? An ex?”

Stiles almost laughed at the thought of Derek actually dating him, but then thought of Danny and decided that it wouldn’t be a lie. “Yeah.”

“I’d still like to get coffee with you, and preferably it would be Starbucks, so how about you wait outside, or just inside the door, and allow me to buy us drinks?” 

Stiles raised his eyebrows, “And your name would be?”

“James.”

“I’m Stiles,” He said in reply. “And I like iced raspberry chai.” 

“Starbucks has raspberry?” James asked, surprised.

“You have a lot to learn, don’t you,” Stiles laughed. “They also have peppermint year-round.”

“I feel like I have been lied to my entire life,” James shook his head. “Okay, you wait here and I’ll go get us drinks.” Stiles leaned against the building, smiling, thinking that maybe this how he’d get over Derek, when he heard a crash coming from within Starbucks.

Stiles rushed in and found James laying on the floor, clearly having fallen onto a stool that had fallen now, clutching his jaw, and Derek standing over him, breathing heavily. 

“Why in the world would you have hit him Derek?” Stiles exclaimed, though he didn’t rush to help James up. Derek, while grumpy and generally unsociable, didn’t hit people for no reason.

“This is the ass that broke Isaac’s heart last semester,” Derek growled. 

“Oh.” 

For good measure, when Erica called out James’ extra-hot red-eye, Stiles poured it over his crotch.

**5\. Brooke**

He met Brooke at a meeting for the LGBTQ+ student commission; she was asexual, polyamorous, and panromantic and still hung up on her last girlfriend and boyfriend. She was cute, and Stiles enjoyed cuddling with her and holding her hand and she was exactly what he needed at the moment. Neither of them wanted much from the other, they knew they were both interested in other people, and it was okay. They could enjoy each other while it lasted.

It didn’t last long once Stiles brought her to his Starbucks, of course. 

But honestly, how was he supposed to know that Erica and Boyd were her exes? Together. And that they missed Brooke as much as she missed them? 

As soon as they walked in, Derek saw Brooke, eyes widening, and he marched into the back room, and returned with Erica and Boyd by the collars of their shirts, literally ripping off their aprons, grunting at them to take their break and cuddle on a couch.

Stiles was happy for them, he was, but it was a bit disappointing to have a date once again come to an abrupt halt at his favorite place. 

He ordered a venti vanilla bean frappuccino with chocolate chips and extra whipped cream, and at least Erica rung him up for free for stealing his date.

**(+1. Lydia)**

Stiles had long ago come to terms that he was never going to date Lydia, that he had never, and would never have a chance with Lydia. Especially not now that Lydia had started dating Allison because not only was it impossible to compete with Allison, it was downright dangerous to do so, with her literally Olympic-quality archery skills. It was probably for the best though, and they made a fantastic pair of friends, he and Lydia. 

She was the absolute best for no-nonsense, straightforward advice, being nice and clear and harsh when Stiles needed it (and he often needed). After a very serious, somewhat heartbreaking discussion as to why Stiles should give up on Derek, he owed her coffee. So, despite her better judgment, he brought her to Starbucks. 

They ordered their drinks and Stiles excused himself to go to the bathroom, setting his stuff at the stool next to Lydia at the counter. When he returned, he hovered for a second, seeing that Derek seemed to be intensely talking to Lydia.

“I have worked hard to try and get Stiles to like me, I give him and Scott free cake pops, and let me tell you, Stiles does not need anymore sugar!” Derek was saying. “And he just keeps bringing people here and they can’t give him free coffee or cake pops.”

“Didn’t another barista try to ask him out?” Lydia asked, amused.

“Not the point.” Derek growled. “I thought for sure by now he would have asked me out or- I don’t know but instead he keeps bringing people. At least the last two times I had legitimate reasons to interfere- with James I didn’t even know it was a date- but I don’t know how much more creative I can get! So I’m appealing to you on a human level, please, please don’t date Stiles. Leave him for me. He is all I want in a boyfriend and it’s just not fair.”

“Did you seriously sabotage all of my dates?”

“I didn’t know with James!” Derek snapped.

“And now you’re trying to stop me from dating Lydia? You actually think Lydia is within my league? Seriously?” Stiles asked.

“I’m pretty sure you could get anyone you wanted, Stiles,” Derek sighed, defeated. “And clearly you do not want me.”

“You idiot.” Stiles said, starting to smile. “I’ve wanted to date you for months. I would ask you to coffee but I figure you’d rather get food somewhere.”

“I would go anywhere with you,” Derek blurted, blushing suddenly. Laura crept up, a wide grin on her face. 

“And that, little brother, means you have the day off,” She said. “Go enjoy your new boyfriend.”

“And my work here is done,” Lydia said, hopping off of the stool and shaking her hair out. “I’m going to meet Allison, we’re shopping for our new bed.”

“How old is she?”

“Not old enough for her not to be terrifying,” Stiles said. “Boyfriend?”

“If you want.”

“I do,” Derek said, reaching over to grip Stiles’ hand. “I really do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Much of this is based off of my own ridiculous relationship with Starbucks. Written in like three days and I clearly have no beta so. Sorry about any mistakes, they are my own.
> 
> main/fandom tumblr: oldvoiceholdingmeback.tumblr.com
> 
> writing tumblr: filledwiththingsunreal.tumblr.com


End file.
